In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not to be taken as an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date:                (a) part of common general knowledge; or        (b) known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.        
Whilst the following discussion highlights the invention with relation to herbicides, it is believed that the same principles apply to other chemicals used in agriculture, such as, plant hormones, insecticides, crop desiccants or crop defoliants.
Farmers rotate the use of their fields to allow the fields to regain their fertility. This means that at any one time there will be fields with crops and fields left bare. The bare fields are said to be fallow fields.
Weeds will still grow on the fallow fields, and while they will not be competing with a crop for nutrients or space, if they are left alone they will produce many seeds which will germinate and be a problem when the field is again used for crops. As a result, the farmer will spray the fallow fields with herbicide to kill the weeds. Since there is no crop on fallow fields, a non-selective herbicide can be used, such as glyphosate. Non-selective herbicides can also be used to control weeds in cropping situations where the crop has either been bred or genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide.
There is a growing trend to produce adjuvants to improve the efficacy of agrochemicals, including herbicides. For example, in Australian patent application number 62833/98, an adjuvant for use with herbicides, crop defoliants and desiccants is disclosed including esters of fatty acids and nonionic emulsifiers.
Glyphosate is the most widely used non-selective herbicide for both fallow and cropping situations worldwide. Currently, a farmer may prepare the glyphosate spray with several additives to improve its efficacy. For example, it is known to add ammonium salts to improve the efficacy of glyphosate. The reasons for this improvement are not well understood and it is a complicated area of chemical and botanical reactions. However, it is believed that some anions can minimize the deleterious effect of hard water on herbicidal performance and the ammonium cation provides nutrition for the plant which enhances the uptake and translocation of the herbicide by the plant. Wetting agents are also used to improve leaf coverage. Petroleum fractions or other lipophilic materials (hereinafter referred to as lipophilic solvents) are used, especially in the summer months, to keep the herbicide in liquid form as the herbicide will be ineffective once it dries on the foliage.
The farmer may combine all these additives with the herbicide when the tank mix is prepared but the farmer may not know whether these components are compatible with each other. Some additives or adjuvants can actually antagonise each other and decrease the activity of the agrochemical. It is also inconvenient since there are several components which must be bought, measured and combined.
Farmers are always looking for more efficacious and convenient ways to enhance the performance of active ingredients. They would also prefer to simply add one composition which they know will enhance the efficacy of the herbicide rather than deal with several components where the resultant effect is unknown.